Content marketing gives you many excuses for reminding your audience about your conference.

Whether you are sending out emails or publishing blog posts, your audience will be eager to view the content you share if you are providing useful, timely information.

In the weeks before your conference or event, however, you'll want to make sure you are taking advantage of this exposure to build registration. So don't miss an opportunity to include important details or links regarding your upcoming event. (If registration is not open yet, you might consider including a link to your event calendar in all your posts.)

Warning: Don't repeatedly post content that merely announces your upcoming event. If the only reason you wrote the content is to tell people that registration is open, you run the risk of appearing overly self-promotional - a BIG no-no when it comes to content marketing.

One post announcing that registration is open is fine. But it's better to package your announcement within some type of useful or entertaining content. For instance, an interview of your keynote speaker is a great place to include such information.

Here is a checklist of five items to include in all your content marketing materials once registration for your event is open.

1. Date and place of your upcoming conference in the first paragraph

An example of this might be: "Software Company Magnate Justin Ainsworth, Keynote Speaker for the Big Association Conference April 3-6, 2013 in Denver, says basic changes in the way software is licensed will have significant effects on associations in the future."

Whenever your upcoming conference is mentioned, the date and place should be included as close to the beginning of the content as possible.

Always make information about your conference easy to find. Include it on the home page of your website and in all content that is even peripherally associated with it.

2. Link to the registration page in your first paragraph

Include a link to the registration page as soon as you mention your conference. For instance, in the above example, "Big Association Conference April 3-6, 2013 in Denver" would be a great place to include such a link.

3. Link to supporting content

Obviously, getting your website visitors to your registration page is extremely important when marketing your event. But keep in mind that the longer you keep people on your website in general, the better it looks to online search engines. In other words, the longer people stay on your website, the higher you are likely to be ranked in online searches.

Consider linking to material you have already published that relates to the content you are about to publish.

4. Memorable picture or video relating to your event

You may choose to post a picture of your keynote speaker or you may want to embed a video from your event site convention bureau touting the local attractions. Whatever it is, make it interesting, aesthetically pleasing and relevant to your event.

5. Link to the registration page with a call to action at the end of the post

Finally, end your post with an invitation to learn more at your event. For example: "Hear Software Company Magnate Justin Ainsworth speak in person and learn about the newest developments in association software licensing at the upcoming Big Association Conference in Denver. Register here."

In content marketing terms, this is what's known as a "Call to Action" or CTA. It's an enticement to your audience to take action, in this case, registering for your event.

A CTA at the end of your post uses the good will and credibility gained by the useful information you provided to encourage more interaction between your brand and your audience.

A CTA that links to your registration page, reminds the reader about the conference and makes registration an easy and natural result of engaging with your content.